Dear all, we are driving from Orly Airport to Normandy with the intention to see all the WW2 sites as possible and Mt. Saint Michel. We are flying in Orly Airport on Sunday noon, and then renting the car. I think we will get to bayeux or st mere eglise around 4pm, therefore we would have the rest of sunday, monday and tuesday until around 5pm when we will drive back to paris. Could you possibly give me some advice on the following:
1. Can we visit anything on sunday afternoon?
2. What town would you recommend to stay in?
3. How much time would we spend in Mt Saint Michel (including the dirve)
4. In short, How would you distribute the time to visit the d-day sites and Mt Saint Michel?
I really appreciate it, to visit normandy has been my all life dream, I´m from venezuela and I have a deep admiration for those who fought in WW2 and their legacy...
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Hi Franco
When will you be visiting Normandy? Several of the WW2 museums close around 15th November until 15th January and some are only open at weekends during that period. I would suggest only trying to get as far as Bayeux on Sunday afternoon - St Mere Eglise will take another hour from Bayeux. Just about all the museums will be open on a Sunday afternoon until 6pm. The US cemetery is open until 5pm but the visitors centre at the cemetery is open until 6pm.
Bayeux is a pretty central location to stay and visit the WW2 sites and also has plenty of restaurants that will be open out of season if that is when you are coming.
The Airborne museum at St Mere Eglise is one of the best around and you would also be pretty close to Utah beach at this point, where there is another museum worth visiting. There is a good museum at Arromanches which is Gold beach and where you can see the remaining examples of the Mulberry Harbour. There is also the Battle for Normandy museum at Bayeux, just across the road from the British cemetery.
I would see as much as you can on Sunday afternoon and then spend all day Monday doing WW2 stuff, as well as the first part of Tuesday morning. It will take about an hour and a half to drive to Mont St Michel from Bayeux and I would allow about 3 hours if you want to climb to the top and look around the abbey.
Have a nice stay in Normandy.
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If Paris is your ultimate destination, you might look into dropping the car somewhere [Caen?] and taking the train.
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Make sure you sleep well on the plane on the way over!
By Sunday afternoon, you might be feeling pretty darn tired when you pull into Bayeux!
We did the same thing. It took us about 1 hour 15 minutes to get out of the CDG airport and pick up our luggage, get a car rented and be on the road.
Get driving directions in advance from www.viamichelin.com once you know the address of where you will be staying. This was invaluable to us....mostly in the part where you%26#39;re trying to get away from Paris.
Bayeux is a great location to stay. Lovely town, small enough to make navigation easy, but not too small. When you are walking around town, to dinner, wherever.....you will very much enjoy looking at the cathedral. It%26#39;s amazingly beautiful and we never tired of looking at it. The outside is far more spectacular than the inside. It is lovely in the morning and especially so all lit up at night. The river front in Bayeux is also a gorgeous place to take a daytime or evening stroll.
STRONGLY Consider taking a guided tour on Monday of the D-Day beaches. I%26#39;m not usually one for guided tours, but seriously these people are EXPERTS and they make it really come to life. However much you think you know about D-Day, they know far far more. Here is a highly recommended one that is based in Bayeux. www.battlebus.com or maybe it%26#39;s www.battlebus.fr Anyway, if you google %26quot;BattleBus+Normandy%26quot; you%26#39;ll find it. These are all very small groups. It will be a very long day, but you will cover far more ground than you possibly could on your own. Obviously, set it up in advance so you are not disappointed.
Sunday you MIGHT be able to get into the museum on the beach at Arromanches (Gold Beach) which is devoted to the mulberry harbors. When you look at a map you will see that Arromanches is super close to Bayeux. Check the hours for both that and also the %26quot;360 Degree Theatre%26quot; in Arromanches. It might be possible to do it in the evening. There are restaurants in Arromanches also, for dinner. If those are closed, and you want to see something close by on Sunday afternoon/evening, consider going to the beach in Arromanches -- the mulberry harbors are still RIGHT THERE and at low tide you can walk right up to some and peer inside. Also, there is the gun battery right near there.....I%26#39;m forgetting the name, I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s the Longues sur Mer as I think those are further east......hmmmm, anyway, look for the gun battery not too far from Bayeux/Arromanches.
When in Bayeux, if you have the time (and it would take about 90 minutes at the most) I would recommend also seeing the Bayeux Tapestry. Amazing story of a battle. Make sure you see the short film before seeing the tapestry. Let%26#39;s face it, most of us from the Americas don%26#39;t know the difference between a Norman and a Saxon, never heard of the Battle of Hastings, and never knew Vikings set foot in France! You will learn a lot from seeing this, and it is very interesting that the two largest over-water attacks of all time went right through this area.....one going one way in 1044, one coming back the other way in 1944. (Excuse me if I have that first year incorrect) Check the times before you go for when it will be open. It would be easy to do this before heading out to Le Mont St. Michel.
If you could possibly possibly POSSIBLY cut one day off your itinerary in Paris (or wherever), you might well be very happy to add it on to Normandy and not feel so rushed.
If you go to Mont St. Michel on Tuesday, I would suggest seeing the Bayeux Tapestry before you leave Bayeux, then pack up your luggage and go to Mont St. Michel, then drive on to your next destination directly from there. Be prepared for a loooooong day.
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